ABOUT
Strictly gentlemen* with beards** only
*or ladies
**or without beards
Forest Side Bicycle Club was founded in mid 2014, and is based on the west side (aka forest side) of Loughborough, Leicestershire at the foot of the Charnwood hills.
We're a friendly, sociable bunch with a predominate interest in road riding, although many of our core members have a general interest in all aspects of cycling, be it MTB, cyclocross, fixed gear, track, or just a love of larking about on bikes.
Currently group road rides form the majority of our regular activities. We host a regular group ride on a Wednesday evening - find out more in the RIDES section.
FSBC is affiliated with British Cycling and we encourage regular participants to join up to BC - a discount is available to Forest Side members.
If you fancy joining us for a group ride, either join the facebook group and introduce yourself or send an email to the club.
Rides
We meet weekly for a social ride on a Wednesday night at 7:30 prompt, starting from outside the Cinnamon Lounge Indian Restaurant in Loughborough (MAP).
The routes will vary, but will always include a few climbs and will be between 20-30 miles of predominately rural roads. We always start and finish at the same location, Or at a local pub if the weather's nice!
We ride through all seasons and weathers so bike maintenance, clothing, and kit need to be suitable.
You will need to be equipped with the following:
Bike
- Preferably a road-bike with drop handlebars
- Gears shifting reliable
- Wheels straight and true
- Brakes effective
- Tyres properly inflated (90-100psi for a 23mm-wide road tyre)
Clothing
- A cycle jersey with pockets (you need quick access to your food)
- Padded shorts or tights
- A rain jacket if it looks like it might be wet
Food & drink
- At least one water bottle. Two if it looks like being very hot
- A couple of energy bars, flapjacks, bananas or alike
Other items
- A bike multi-tool
- A spare inner tube or two, and tyre levers
- Pump
- Phone
- Money for coffee/food at the end
Rider
- A desire to ride in a close group and to improve your riding skills and fitness
- Capable of riding 30 miles with several steep hills and only brief stops. If you're not yet comfortable at that distance, build up with solo rides before coming along
- 15-17mph average speed or there about for social ride
- Capable of fixing a puncture. We're very helpful and will assist if necessary, but riders should aim to become self-sufficient and be able to maintain your equipment
Safety
Decent lights are essential as we ride late. Fronts need to light the road ahead of you as well as make you visible to drivers, rears should be reliable, spare batteries or a small spare rear light are also a good idea. We strongly advise all riders to wear a suitably-sized and adjusted helmet. You should also carry emergency contact details, with details of any medical conditions/allergies etc.
Legal Stuff
- ALL RIDERS MUST observe the Highway Code AT ALL TIMES when riding with Forest Side. This includes: riding no more than two abreast and riding in single file to allow traffic to pass on narrow roads, obeying traffic lights and signs, not riding on pavements and not abusing other road users
- Please acknowledge any courtesy shown to you by other road users and stop at pedestrian crossings where necessary
- Riders attend club rides strictly at their own risk
ROUTES
Coming soon...
LINKS
FSBC strava page - stalk club members and see how you compare on the leaderboards
FSBC Facebook page - where we arrange our club runs + general banter
British Cycling Club Page - FSBC are affiliated with British Cycling. BC membership has a whole host of benefits from liability insurance, cycling discount offers, and priority access to UCI events.
BC Insight Zone - Another aspect to British Cycling is their knowledge base - invaluable if you're just getting into cycling - loads of info about training, sportives, group riding etiquette and much more...
MetCheck - check the weather! no excuses for wearing the wrong gear!
KIT
Our custom jersey will be available soonish!
